After she collapsed, her brain … Terri’s family appealed the February 11, 2000 order and the Second District Court of Appeals affirmed Greer’s ruling. In this persistent vegetative state she remained the last fifteen years of her life. But should the parents’ wishes trump the spouse’s legal position as guardian? By closing this message, you are consenting to our use of cookies. And there is a complicated family saga. Theresa Marie Schindler grew up in the Huntingdon Valley area of Lower Moreland Township, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as the eldest of three children of Robert and Mary Schindler.